Shelless egg

[TearDucks]

I dont like when they do her on land she has a bit of an inverted leg and it's bad for her. When the river was froze over she got stuck on it. The water level dropped and it broke a sheet of ice and she couldn't climb it. I was headed outside to toss corn and I seen five ducks by the coop. Then Howard by the bank then I realized Lucky was stuck on the ice. I was home alone with my kid, not that I'd go on the ice anyway. I grabbed a wagon and filled it with old straw from their coop, climbed down the river bank and tossed straw on the ice and she realized I was trying to help her. She climbed the straw and got out. There were 30 or so river ducks in the water watching like yeah watch this human get a duck out of the river. Hell yeah I saved her! They didn't come for corn. It was like a silent respect for my ducks. At least that's how I see it. That's my wild duck tale...

 

[Miss Lydia]

Aww bless your heart. You were the hero of the day!! They looked at you in awe.

We live above a mt river and I was walking along it one day with my Dachshunds some how my one fell off the cliff and I had to lay on my belly and hang off the side to get this pup There was only a small tree precariously growing on the side to hold onto. Too steep to climb down. That was my heroic deed.
What we won't do eh

I didn't realize Mallards stayed around over winter I thought they all flew down south?

Sounds like you have wild ducks all year round.

 

[TearDucks]

Wow that's crazy. Yeah a lot of them go south, but a lot of them stay. I have both male and female ducks year round. I feed them regularly.

When the river was super high my neighbors boat showed up at my bank and thankfully got caught up in some brush. I climbed out on a log and tied it up. My ducks were funny. They were going wha wha wha. Like mom don't do that mom. I saved the boat haha.

 

[Miss Lydia]

How do your ducks not float away down river? gosh I worry about mine floating off so they aren't allowed to the river. It's less than a football field from our home but no one knows it's there. Plus the predators.

Oh my gosh you really are heroic I bet your neighbors were very happy you saved their boat. I have seen parts of sheds etc floating down our river but have never felt heroic enough to go in to save anything especially when raging after storms.

 

[TearDucks]

ThanksMy ducks stay close to home. I can usually see them from the window or the yard. I was worried about hunting season. They were fine bc this side of the river has houses on it where the other side is fields and they would be unprotected. They dont cross very often or for very long. Although, for some odd reason for two nights the ducks decided to stay out all night. I had to collect my egg off my neighbors river bank the first day. I was very upset! Then the next day they came home and she laid her egg at home but they stayed out all night again. So..I said enough is enough and I closed the coop so they didn't have access to their food and then they got my point and they come home at night. Not sure what that was all about. Rebel teens. I no longer have to pull their food.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yep I actually got my first Muscovies from that river so I know how ducks can get lost, And these Muscovy drakes flew very well living off the river only they weren't as heavy as my drake is today.
That is great yours stay close to home when I first befriended the drakes at our river they would come up to the house to eat and every evening I would walk down with them part way so they wouldn't have to walk through woods to get down to the river and get surprised by a predator. Finally 2 got killed and I decided when Ernie came to visit the 3 female Muscovy's I had gone a bought that he would stay and live with us. He enjoyed almost 12 yrs with us. I loved that drake. I knew the neighbors across the river who had these ducks so knew when they had hatched. She didn't keep them up at night and they were getting picked off so they made their way to the river.

I had a few females 3 actually that decided 2 nights in a row in dead of winter they were not going to go inside their house and they would park up high on the bank behind the house where I couldn't get to them. I tried all manner of ways to get them down but nope they wanted no part of it [teenagers] like yours. So after about freezing to death sitting out there trying to get them to come down I set up fencing so when they came down to eat inside the smaller fenced in area I was able to close them off and walk them in. Finally they got the message and went in on their own. Had a few that thought they were going to roost on top of the roof of their house too high to get too also I used the hose srayer and sprayed them off the roof, they got the hint too. lil stinkers.
Now ducklings learn for their mamas and their older sibs haven't had one stay out side for years now.

 

[TearDucks]

It's hard having outside pets. And you invest all this time and money and love and you want to protect them for sure! Ostara wants out bad. Poor girl, i dont think its a good idea. Omg lucky is shivering she's cold. I scooped her and put her and howard in the pen. They are making ostara keep her distance though.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Of course they are make her keep her distance she is still an outsider.

Only you can decide to let her out but if mine I wouldn't yet.

Looking at the snow I'd been shriving too. We went from 60 yesterday to 30 today.

 

[TearDucks]

It was in the teens at night here. Climbing to the 20s recently.
I don't know if she would come back for me if i let her out after a week. I assume she would stick close by at least. She knows my flock whether she wants to be apart of or not.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Have you thought about getting her a friend another scovy. Here my scovy's stick together my Runners and Buffs stick together. I have 1 Muscovy my youngest who hatched some of these Runners who will hang out with them. But mostly 2 groups.